Lij Teodrose Fikremariam is the co-founder and former editor of the Ghion Journal. He is currently the chair of Ethiopians for Constitutional Monarchy. A published author and prolific writer, a once defense consultant was profoundly changed by a two year journey of hardship and struggle. Going from...

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This Week’s Recap of Corporate Media Bullcrap

By Lij Teodrose Fikremariam on December 10, 2017

There is a vast difference between fact and truth. A fact is established by those in positions of authority while truth stands on its own merit. The conflict between facts and truth can be found in most aspects of culture; from politics, religion to pop culture, we are often sold lies as facts and conditioned to accept fiction as biblical truth. History is one area that stands out above all when it comes to the lies of the establishment. History is written by the victors with the blood of the defeated.

I write this in context of Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Once again, corporate media is split down the middle between conservative outposts and liberal institutions. The latter like Fox News and the New York Daily are proclaiming Trump’s decision as an act of courage while liberal entities such as CNN, MSNBC and the Washington Post are decrying his decision as a grave threat to stability in the Middle East and a resolution lacking in wisdom. But there is one thing all sides in corporate media, irrespective of their political ideologies, are not touching–they know better than to speak truth to the hands that feeds them.

Modern day Israel was birthed through Zionism; it was the brainchild Theodor Herzl who envisioned a homeland for Jews based on the biblical narrative of a city in Jerusalem built by King David. Remember what I said about facts and truth? Here is the truth that very few people in corporate media will dare speak upon. Zionism is a racist philosophy which espouses Ashkenazi Jews are superior and thus deserving of their own nation that is based on an appropriation of both history and culture. The word Jew is derived from the son of Jacob named Judah who was a Hebrew King in the Torah (Old Testament). The narrative of Judah is one that Zionists hijacked in order to advance their political ideology. But the truth is that Ashkenazi Jews can’t trace their ancestry to King Judah because their lineage extends to a people who lived in Central Europe and converted to Judaism in the 12th century–their claim to Israel is based on pure fantasy. Zionists have as much connection to Judah as I am a Scandinavian.

Now I know what will come next, I’m pretty sure speaking this most inconvenient of facts will get me tarred and feathered in some quarters as being an anti-Semite. It will be mostly Zionists who will cast this libelous term as a way to shout down anyone who dares to question propaganda with insults. Which is ironic seeing that most people who founded Zionism and current Zionists are not Semitic to begin with. Biblical Hebrews looked nothing like the Zionists you see being peddled on corporate media as the spokespeople of Jews. That is because Zionism has nothing to do with Judaism, even in Israel there is a large segment of Jewish people who are repulsed by the ideology of Zionism and speak against the apartheid state being pushed by religious extremists. Like most religious fundamentalists, Zionists use Yahweh to advance their own political and economic interests at the cost of people [read Zionism is not Judaism].

I want to take this moment to speak against people who blame all Jews for the sins of a few miscreants and castigate them for weaponizing money to buy up governments and institutions. To put the onus on all for the excesses of some from that group is morally wrong and unconscionable. The same reason I refuse to use terms like “white privilege” and “white supremacy” is why I refuse to blame Jews for the evils of Zionism. All Jews are not in league with Zionists and neither are all “white people” in cahoots with a system of capital larceny that is at the root of global suffering. The blame belongs to those who sit at the table of influence and who have the clout to advance injustices, this group of insiders consists of a diverse group of people from many nations, ethnicity and religions who have one thing in common–they let greed and hubris serve as their moral compass.

On this point, let me highlight one particular corporate media mouthpiece who refuses to speak truth and instead peddles fiction. Mike Huckabee, come on down! You are the winner of this week’s “hackery honors”. Huckabee, who has his own show on Fox News, is a prime example of how history and religion gets hijacked in order to advance political ideologies. The day Trump announced Jerusalem as Isreal’s capital, Huckabee was jubilant and could barely contain his pious glee. In fact, Trump tabbed Huckabee as a special envoy to Israel to facilitate the American embassy’s move to Jerusalem. Huckabee noted:

“I think if he said it, he’s going to do it. He is different for Israel than any recent president there has been, and I think he’s a man who keeps his word. He recognizes the historical significance of the Jewish people to Jerusalem.”

With those words, Huckabee partakes in outright propaganda and cultural appropriation as he intentionally conflates Zionism with Judaism. The right wing “Christian conservative” bloc have been conditioned to accept Zionism as a biblical truth when it’s actually a preposterous fiction. Zionism is not biblical nor is it anywhere in the Torah, Zionism is a philosophy of hatred and exclusion–Revelations 3:9 starts to make sense given this context. This is the problem with both religion and politics, accepting the dogma of others is to receive propaganda. There is a difference between faith, which is internal and honors God within our hearts, and religion which seeks to elevate man over others. Fox News and Mike Huckabee cater to the religious crowd by dabbling in ideological and religious supremacy–they have much in common with the founders of Zionism. We will never get to truth in our lifetime, the lies of the powerful are too many and their propaganda too abundant for us to have any hope to unravel their disinformation. Yet, I humbly submit to you that the first step on the journey to discover truth is to know when you are being lied to. When it comes to corporate media and the hacks who populate the various channels, stations and websites, it is best to assume that all who are getting paid by corporations don’t have an ounce of truth within them. In that light, it is fitting that the pathological liar Donald Trump is our president and informed by professional perjurers in corporate media. Tune in next week as I continue to highlight the never ending bullcrap that is corporate media; you can send us your nominations “hackery honors” to info@ghionjournal.com and which particular narrative you think should be called out.

“Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.” ~ Dalai Lama

Check out the latest Ghion Cast where I speak about the very ways corporate media and the political class use lies and propaganda to pit us against one another.

Lij Teodrose Fikremariam is the co-founder and former editor of the Ghion Journal. He is currently the chair of Ethiopians for Constitutional Monarchy. A published author and prolific writer, a once defense consultant was profoundly changed by a two year journey of hardship and struggle. Going from a life of upper-middle class privilege to a time spent with the huddled masses taught Teodrose a valuable lesson in the essence of togetherness and the need to speak against injustice.

Originally from Ethiopia with roots to Atse Tewodros II, Lij Teodrose is a former community organizer whose writing was incorporated into Barack Obama's South Carolina primary victory speech in 2008. He pivoted away from politics and decided to stand for collective justice after experiencing the reality of the forgotten masses. His writing defies conventional wisdom and challenges readers to look outside the constraints of labels and ideologies that serve to splinter the people. Lij Teodrose uses his pen to give a voice to the voiceless and to speak truth to power.